Alternate Ending to Frostbite
by fanficwiz
Summary: This is an alternate ending of the Spokane scene in Frostbite. Mason ends up living, but walks in on one of Rose and Dimitri's stolen kisses. Will his actions that follow change all of the events that took place after this book?
1. Chapter 1

**I'm very excited about this story. I have been writing a couple story introductions lately trying to decide which ones to continue, and I feel pretty good about this one. Please review your thoughts on this! If I don't get to about ten reviews or more, I probably won't continue it since I want to ensure there is interest in the story before putting more work in.**

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**Chapter 1**

_We all turned to a new voice, a voice dark and angry. Mason stood in the doorway, framed in light, holding my dropped gun. Isaiah studied him for a few moments._

I watched as my last hopes fell away, as Mason emptied all of the gun's bullets into Isaiah, eliciting no response at all from the ancient strigoi.

_"Get out!" I screamed. He was still in the sun, still safe._

_ But he didn't listen to me. He ran towards us, out of his protective light._

"Shit!" I heard a voice weakly yell from outside.

_Isaiah shoved me into Elena before Mason was halfway to us. Swiftly, Isaiah blocked and seized hold of Mason, exactly as he'd done to me earlier. _

But as quickly as Isaiah had seized Mason, he screeched a deafening scream. I looked up to find that Isaiah was engulfed in flames. He fell to the ground, rolling around frantically, but it was of no use. He screamed until he was no more than a charred body. My stomach twisted and I had to fight back the urge to puke. Sure, it had been my goal to kill these strigoi and to get out of here alive, but watching a strigoi die in actuality is a hundred times worse than it was in my fantasies. Killing strigoi isn't glorious, it's brutal and revolting. It is something that has to be done and no more.

Elena screamed as she foolishly released her hold on me to kneel over Isaiah.

"Get out!" Yelled Mason.

"No!" I yelled back frantically. What if Elena killed more innocents? I had to make sure she wasn't a threat to anyone else anymore.

"Rose, you need to get out of there!" Yelled another voice, oh god, it was Mia. She should not have come back here. "Christian passed out after incinerating Isaiah. You have no weapon, all you can do is run!" She yelled frantically.

Just as I realized she was right, Elena promptly got up and charged towards me.

"You will pay for this!" She snarled, her red eyes fuming with rage.

She sloppily lunged at me, and I was able to deflect her attack easily. However, as inexperienced as she may be, I am still weaponless.

Suddenly, the aquarium beside us exploded, and water began to suffocate Elena. She hopelessly pried at her face, trying to remove the water, but it was no avail. I looked back and saw Mia now working her magic on Elena. Why the hell is offensive magic not promoted heavily?

I picked up a glass shard before I could even think about what I was doing. I promptly shoved it into Elena's heart, just as I had done using a stake on dummies countless times in practice.

Elena screamed and passed out on the ground. She was surely not dead, but at least she was unconscious temporarily.

Searching around the room frantically, I found a decorative sword encased in a locked glass cabinet. Without even thinking about it, I kicked the glass until it shattered, and pulled the sword out.

I hastily rushed over towards Elena, sword in hand, probably looking like a maniac. But I didn't care. All I cared about was the pain that she had put my friends and I through. All I cared about were the innocents who lost their lives to her.

Pulling the sword up, I crashed it down against Elena's neck. I repeated the process over and over and over again. I barely even noticed the burn in my arms.

"_Rose, he's dead!" _whimpered Mia. "_Rose, we have to go. Come on."_

I only registered the noise in the back of my mind. My vision blurred as I began to stand up.

"Rose!" Mason yelled, rushing to my side.

"Mase," I moaned as I fell to the ground, my legs unable to hold me up anymore. I was breathing heavily and stars formed in my eyes.

"Rose, honey, please wake up." Begged a voice.

I groaned and opened my eyes, but immediately closed them back again after, needing to adjust to the light.

"Where is everyone?" I gasped, still unable to open my eyes.

"Everyone is ok," She replied reassuringly. With a startle I realized it was my mom. I opened my eyes and found myself in the school's infirmary. 'I'm really safe,' I thought to myself with a startle.

But as soon as I began processing everything, I was suffocated by memories of Spokane; Eddie slumped over from blood loss and the strong endorphins, Christian and Mia, deathly pale and weak, and Mason, only seconds away from death. And then I recounted the image of Isaiah's charred and unrecognizable body lying lifelessly, and Elena's head, lying separate from her body. It was all just too much. I couldn't control the tears that began to uncontrollably leak out of my eyes.

My mom wrapped her arms around me tightly, and rubbed my back soothingly.

"It's over, you are safe," She kept repeating as I cried my eyes out.

"Rose!" Squealed Lissa as she ran towards us. My mom hesitantly stepped away from me, and with one look at me, Lissa picked up where my mom had left off and pulled me into a hug. I hated feeling helpless like this. Through the bond, I could feel Lissa sending me soothing thoughts.

About an hour later, Dr. Olendsky told me that I was free to leave. I was thrilled to be leaving the infirmary, but I was upset that Dimitri hadn't come by to see me. He is probably too busy doing unspeakable things with Tasha. He's probably going to leave me.

I couldn't help but let loose another tear as I thought about Dimitri leaving, after everything. Sure, I had known before that him leaving was a possibility, but it all just seemed so much more real now. Wait, we are back at the academy. Tasha wouldn't be here. God dammit, maybe Dimitri is already gone.

"Mom, where is Dimitri?" I asked, unable to hold back the question.

"Guardian Belikov is on morning watch right now. Why?" She replied, curiosity lacing her features.

"I was just wondering," I replied evasively. I also let out a breath that I hadn't realized I had been holding. He hasn't left, yet.

"Come on Rose, you must be starving," said Lissa, grabbing my arm.

"I am," I replied. After not eating for days, I really was starving.

"Hold up!" exclaimed Dr. Olendsky. "I have printed out a strict meal plan for you for the next few days. You will get sick if you simply stuff your face with what looks good."

I groaned as I took the meal plan. Lissa then dragged me to lunch. I felt as if everyone's eyes were on me the moment I walked into the cafeteria. I could hear whispers, and the odd person even had the nerve to point at me as they gawked.

"Take a picture, it will last longer." I yelled to all of them. Most people turned away, embarrassed, but a lot of whispers still remained.

"Just ignore it," Urged Lissa. "For once, the gossip isn't bad. They are all worshipping you. You're like a hero."

"Me?" I asked, dumbstruck. It had been my fault that nearly all of us had been killed.

"Of course you," giggled Lissa. I ended up eating lunch at an isolated table with only Lissa. I was not in the mood to talk to people.

Later that night, I headed towards the locker room to get ready for my training with Dimitri. I found him curled up reading a Western novel in a supply room.

"_I thought you might come by," he said. "_But we aren't practicing today."

"If we aren't practicing, then why didn't you tell me that the practice is cancelled beforehand?" I asked angrily. I hated that Tasha had shoved this wedge between us. Even if we couldn't be together, I loved being able to at least be friendly with Dimitri. He was truly an amazing person.

"I didn't see you today." He replied, as if it were the most obvious reason in the world.

"But now that I'm here, let's practice. Dr. Olendsky said that I'm good to go."

"_Sit down Rose," _he replied. "I actually wanted to talk to you."

"About what?" I asked.

He shook his head at me. "You already know the answer." He replied lightly, but he took a breath and his facial expression turned deathly serious. But what surprised me most was that his guardian mask wasn't on. Looking into his beautiful brown eyes, I could see that he was upset.

"Rose, no one gets over their first kills easily." He began. "I can't believe you had to go through all of that. I'm just… I feel like I have failed you as a mentor for having allowed you to get yourself into that kind of situation."

"Dimitri, everything was my fault!" I replied. "I told Mason that there were strigoi in Spokane, and I chased after him with Christian without letting anyone know, and, I'm just so sorry Dimitri!" I cried, tears threatening to spill over again. I hated letting Dimitri down, and let's face it: I fucked up big time.

Dimitri lightly grabbed my hand. His long and powerful fingers rubbing soothing circles into my palm, I built up the courage to look up into his eyes.

"Roza, you made some bad decisions, but Mason and the others all did as well. You can't take all of the blame for this. I just want to make sure that you are ok, or well, as ok as you can be." He sighed as he tightened his grip on my hand. "Rose, when I saw you lying on the ground unconscious, in a pool of blood that I only later found out belonged to Elena, I was devastated. I thought you were dead. It felt like my heart had been ripped from me and smashed into the ground one thousand times over."

"I'm sorry," I cried, tears openly flowing from my eyes once more. "I should go," I said quickly, not wanting him to see me completely break down.

"Just wait Roza, I told her no." He said, just as I had let go of his hand.

I gave him a confused glance.

"I told Tasha no. I couldn't return her feelings for me because my heart belongs to someone else."

"_But you seemed so into her. And you kept going on about how young I act." _I replied.

"You are young in many ways Roza, but at the same time, you understand more than some guardians will in their entire lives. You understand me more than anyone ever has before. That day… _You were right, about how I fight to stay in control. _It scares me that you can figure that out about me while others who have been around me for years have not even come close to the same realization."

"But you conversed so easily with her," I told him, needing to make sure that he was sure of his decision to stay.

"It's just so hard sometimes with you Roza. It's like you can read me like a book, none of my secrets are secret around you. It makes me vulnerable. Tasha is simply a friend which is why it is so much easier at times to chat with her. And then you can factor in that I can't tell you half the things that I want to say to you. Roza, you drive me crazy sometimes. But I thought that being with Tasha would help me forget about you."

I had been doing the same thing, trying to forget about Dimitri by dating Dimitri. "_But she couldn't."_

"_Yes. And, so… that's a problem."_

"God dammit Dimitri," I yelled standing up. He seemed shocked by my outburst. "Why does it have to be a problem that I love you?" I exclaimed.

His eyes widened the moment that I told him that I loved him. 'Good one Rose,' I scolded myself. Now it was only going to be that much worse when he went into one of his Zen life lessons. And then we would ignore each other again, just like we always do whenever we get closest.

"You're a coward Dimitri!" I exclaimed. "So what if you're vulnerable? You think that I don't feel the same way?" I demanded angrily. "This is all just so stupid! I love you! Can't you see that us working together as a guardian pair is already impossible? If you feel the way about me that I feel about you, then staying away from each other is just idiotic, because I will still always mean more to you than any other moroi could."

I was breathing heavily by the time I had finished my little rant. Dimitri thought he was vulnerable, well he doesn't even understand the feeling compared to what I am feeling now. Standing there, I was nearly shaking with anticipation, awaiting Dimitri's response.

He openly stared at me, a tortured look in his eye.

"And in any case, _we aren't Lissa's guardians yet." _I added softly, making eye contact with him.

And then he did the last thing that I thought he would do. He kissed me. It was tentative at first, his lips moving on mine lightly and slowly, still unbelieving of what they were doing. But the kiss quickly deepened and I moaned as I wrapped my arms around him. He lifted one hand up to lightly cup my cheek and I nearly melted into him. I don't understand how he has this much of an effect on me. As the kiss continued, I could sense through Dimitri's moans and body language that his self-control was completely non-existent at the moment. I was no longer kissing Guardian Belikov, or the Russian god, or my mentor. No, I was kissing Dimitri, the man who understood and loved me more than anyone ever had before. Well, assuming he loves me at least.

"I love you Roza," he sighed as he broke the kiss. "I can't stay away from you any longer. I won't let anything bad happen to you, and I will love you for as long as you want me too."

I smiled brightly, as I wrapped my arms around him in a hug. Pulling back, I gazed into his brown eyes which were clearly filled with joy, and leaned in to kiss him again. Almost immediately, the kiss deepened and I found Dimitri's tongue begging for entrance which I happily granted. I don't really know how much time went by, but we were suddenly pulled apart when the door to the supply room was opened.

It was Mason.

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**I hope you liked it! I always found it ridiculous that Rose and Dimitri didn't get together at the end of frostbite, I mean, Dimitri could have never put the life of any moroi above Rose's by that point.**

**Anyways, I have a question for anyone who wishes to answer. What is your favorite VA fanfiction of all time? (If you are torn between a few, just list all of them). I will probably post a question at the end of each chapter of this story because I am always curious about a bunch of stuff.**

**Please review, and any suggestions for where you want this story to proceed are welcome.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks**** for all the great reviews! I'm glad that you are all liking the story. Keep reviewing because the reviews really meant a lot to me. I hope you enjoy this next chapter!**

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**Chapter 2**

_Previously:_

_I smiled brightly, as I wrapped my arms around him in a hug. Pulling back, I gazed into his brown eyes which were clearly filled with joy, and leaned in to kiss him again. Almost immediately, the kiss deepened and I found Dimitri's tongue begging for entrance which I happily granted. I don't really know how much time went by, but we were suddenly pulled apart when the door to the supply room was opened._

_It was Mason. _

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"Mason," I began, but was instantly cut off.

"What the hell Rose?!" He demanded, his cheeks flushed crimson red, nearly matching his hair.

"I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt you," I told him, trying to make eye contact to show him that my words were sincere. But he shifted his gaze away from mine instantly.

"I thought you cared about me!" he exclaimed. "I know that we having some trouble, but I thought that we were still together at least! But this whole thing has been nothing more than a joke to you clearly."

"It wasn't, I swear Mason. I really was trying to give you a chance," I told him. Throughout this, Dimitri was sitting beside me, clearly uncomfortable. His guardian mask had slipped back into place, and his emotions were unreadable.

"It doesn't look like you were; it looks like you were using me or something. How could you do this to me Rose? You know how I have always felt about you! I thought that you were at least my friend."

"You are my friend Mason, I just, I'm in love with Dimitri, I have been trying to avoid him, but I just couldn't forget about the way I felt about him."

"So that's it then? I was a distraction? This is low, even for you Rose. You can't just use people like that!" he yelled. I could have sworn I saw a tear leak out of the corner of one of his eyes, but he covered it up pretty quickly.

"I'm so sorry Mason," I repeated, not really knowing what else to say. I had really screwed up.

"And god Rose, you're with Guardian Belikov now? Do you have any idea how stupid that is?" Mason then turned to face Dimitri. "And you, how dare you involve yourself with her? You are supposed to be the adult and the responsible one! You aren't supposed to make out with your students! This is so fucked up, I should report this to Kirova," He exclaimed, shaking his head.

"No!" I yelled, just as it looked like he was going to walk away. "Please, don't do that to me."

Mason sneered. "I have trouble feeling sympathetic for you at the moment."

"Just please, sleep on it or something, I love him Mason, and we just got together, and-" He cut off my incoherent little ramble.

"You were supposed to love me! I was your boyfriend!" He yelled back at me. "After cheating on me and ripping my heart out, do you expect me to happily stand by and watch as you get your happily ever after with your mentor?" He demanded.

"Mason, I know what it looks like, but you still mean so much to me. You are one of my best friends and always have been," I told him honestly.

"Well I don't want to be friends with someone who treats their best friends like shit." He yelled as he stormed out.

The door slammed behind him, and I fell into Dimitri's arms and started to sob. He wrapped his arms around me protectively, but wasn't nearly as intimate as he had been earlier.

"I'm so sorry comrade, this is all my fault if you get fired and-"

"I made my own decisions," He replied, cutting me off. "I'm just… I don't know what to do. If Mason tells anyone about this…"

"I know," I replied. Dimitri valued his reputation as being an excellent guardian, and this would surely destroy his reputation if this got out.

"Roza, I love you but…"

"Don't say it," I begged.

His dark eyes bore into mine, and I could see that he was hurting as well.

"We just can't risk being seen together." He sighed eventually. "There is nowhere in this school that we can sneak around in. If we are lucky enough and Mason decides to keep this a secret, we can't risk being seen by the wrong person."

"I can't just be around you for the rest of the year, pretending that you mean nothing to me!" I exclaimed.

"We have done it before," he replied.

I closed my eyes and sighed. Why does this always happen?

"Roza, when you graduate, I want to be with you." He said, taking hold of my hand. "It's just too risky to be together here."

"Why can't we just be together when we find times when we are alone together in private?" I begged.

He arched up an eyebrow. "And when are we ever going to be alone in private?"

"Hardly ever," I replied, unable to think of a situation in which we would both have excuses to disappear somewhere.

Then, out of nowhere, I was pulled into Lissa's head.

_"Oh god," I moaned. "Christian," I sighed._

_ His hands were all over me, desperate to feel every part of me. We were so scared that we were going to lose each other. Our kisses were frantic and needy, filled with desperation to stay with each other forever._

_ Layers slowly began to drop the floor._

_ 'Get out!' I scolded myself._

_ I moaned out a sigh as his lips attached to my neck, trailing kisses down…_

_ With great effort, I finally managed to pull myself out._

"Is Lissa ok?" Dimitri asked frantically. I got pulled into her head when her emotions were strong, and normally that occurred when she was in danger. But I had never told Dimitri about the other times that I got pulled in.

"She's more than ok," I grumbled in response. "It must be nice to get to do whatever the hell you want."

He gave me a confused look.

"She is with Christian," I replied, not elaborating.

He nodded, understanding filling him. But the he gave me a questioning glance.

"Where are they? They shouldn't be alone together somewhere private!" he exclaimed, kicking back into guardian mode.

I chuckled. "Comrade, do you really think I am going to rat out my best friend?"

He muttered something in Russian.

"But, we could always steal their hiding spot," I suggested. "No one has walked in on them while they have been in there, yet at least."

His eyes widened with lust as he looked at me, understanding my message. If we ever get enough time alone together, I don't plan on wasting it with G-rated material.

"All we have to do is skip out of an evening or morning training at some point, and sneak up to their hiding spot. It will be easy, and the chances of us getting caught are really low."

My appeal to him was far from being logical. Obviously, the best way to ensure that we wouldn't get caught doing anything was by not doing anything. But I don't know how I am going to stay away from him for another half year. One day, we are just going to crack if we stay apart for too long, and are going to end up in vulnerable positions just like we had been when Mason walked in on us. But I was appealing to him not as a responsible guardian, but as a man. In this moment, my mind was filling with dirty thoughts. All of my Dimitri fantasies in the past have been somewhat distant since I always assumed there was no chance of them coming true. But now, well, to put it bluntly, I would jump him on the spot if I could.

Looking into his widened and dark eyes, I knew that he was thinking the same. But it was going to take more to crack him, I could tell. His self-control had already faded significantly, but I needed to completely abolish it to have my way with him.

"Where is the hiding spot?" He asked eventually.

"I can't tell you that until you agree to use it," I replied, teasing him.

"I need to know if it's actually secure," he replied.

"Don't you trust me?" I asked.

"Unconditionally," he replied. "…In the vast majority of cases," he added. "In this one, not so much," he replied with a smirk.

"What is one of the most unlikely places you can think of to have sex?" I asked him.

He gulped at the mere mention of the word. "Roza, I don't want to pressure you into anything," he quickly started now that I had thrown the word out. He always just has to be the responsible one, thinking about everything before just acting. He never acted impulsively like I did, which admittedly is something that I really love about him. But it sometimes drives me insane also.

"I love you, and I want to be with you," I told him, trying to pull together as much confidence as I could muster.

"Roza," he growled. "Do you have any clue what you do to me? No one else in the world could ever convince me to do what I am about to do."

"Is that a yes?" I asked excitedly.

"As long as the place is secure. But Roza, I just, I wish I could take you out on a real date," he said meekly. "I don't know if I feel comfortable just jumping into this, it's not that I don't want you, I really want you," his cheeks flushed bright red at this last comment and I couldn't help but giggle. I never giggle. He just has such an effect on me. "I want to treat you the way you deserve, and you deserve so much more than I will ever be able to give to you while you are a student here," he sighed.

"By being with me, and I don't just mean physically, you are giving me more than anyone else ever could," I replied.

He smiled. It was one of his rare, full on smiles that made me want to smile. It always prided me when I could elicit this kind of reaction out of him.

"Roza, I would love to stay here with you for the rest of the evening, but I have to go. I have a shift tonight. I don't know how I am going to focus on my shirt though, I mean, I am going to be worrying about Mason and thinking about you the whole time."

"Dimitri, you will still be a better guardian than any of the others, even if you are only somewhat focused."

He shook his head. Anything less than a maximum effort was too little for Dimitri. Being better than the other guardians was irrelevant to him.

"I just hope that Mason doesn't say anything. I can't lose you Dimitri. Not now, not everything," I sighed as we both stood up.

"I know Roza," he replied, pressing a kiss to my forehead before leaving the room. We walked as far as we could together, in a comfortable silence. Words weren't really needed between us most of the time. As I turned to walk into the novice common room, I said goodbye to Dimitri, and entered the large room. Unsurprisingly, Mason was nowhere to be found. However, Eddie was sitting with a group of novices, and the moment he saw me, he stormed towards me.

"What the hell did you do Rose?" Eddie demanded. "Mason is refusing to let me into our dorm room. He wouldn't tell me anything aside from you two being over." As upset that I was that Mason was hurting this badly, I let out a sigh of a relief since it was clear that he hadn't spoken to any authorities yet about this.

"Yeah, it didn't end very well," I told him.

"What happened?" He demanded. "He liked you so much! You're my friend Rose, but if you did something to hurt him, I swear…"

"I didn't mean to hurt him Eddie. I really do care about him. I just can't return his romantic feelings." I told him honestly.

"Why didn't you think about that before you dated him?" He exclaimed. "And I am going to ask this one last time, so don't you dare evade the question, what happened exactly that he has locked himself in his room?"

"I…" I trailed off. I couldn't tell him about Dimitri. It was bad enough that Mason knew. Eddie would be almost equally as furious. Mason was mainly angry about it because he was mad that I didn't return his feelings. Eddie on the other hand treated me like a sister, and would immediately assume that Dimitri was using me. He would also be more closed to the idea of a teacher-student relationship than Mason would normally be.

"I can't really tell you," I replied.

His eyes blazed with anger. "I have been locked out of my room all night Rose! Tell me what the hell is going on!"

"I'm sorry Eddie, I just can't." I sighed, my voice getting weak.

"Why not?" He yelled, clearly not planning on dropping the subject anytime soon. Eddie was fiercely loyal. Hurting Mason was like hurting Eddie himself.

"I, Eddie, you have to understand that we weren't exactly a couple ever. And we were having so many problems by the end of it, that we were kind of already broken up and-"

Eddie's eyes widened. "Did you cheat on him?"

I nodded, seeing as there was no point in denying it any longer.

"God Rose, how could you do that to him? What's wrong with you?" He yelled. "You have always had an eye for trouble, but I have also thought of you as one of the most loyal and caring people that I know. I guess I was wrong."

My eyes were on the verge of filling with tears again, but I pushed them away. I just wanted to get out of here and go to my room. Maybe I could talk to Lissa. But no, Lissa is with Christian, just like she always is! I am there for her for every damn problem that she has ever had, and she can't be with me because she is too busy with Christian. She is such a selfish bitch sometimes!

"Who were you with? Did he walk in on you or…?" Asked Eddie after cooling off for a moment. But his calmer demeanor didn't fool me. He was furious at me, and rightfully so. The way I have treated Mason over these past few weeks has been awful. No wonder he is so mad at me.

"I can't tell you," I replied quietly.

"Why the hell not?" He yelled.

"Because he will get in trouble," I replied.

"Might I assume that you will also get in trouble in this case?" He spat out.

I nodded in response.

"You know what, fine if you don't want to tell me. I don't really care anyways. All that I care about is that you broke Mason. I have been friends with him since I can remember, and I have never seen him this upset before. Goodbye Rose." He said before stalking off.

I basically ran back to my dorm room after the conversation, and suddenly felt extremely angry on top of being sad. Sure, I had been wrong, but do the guys have any right treating me like this? They don't understand my side of the story! They don't understand everything Dimitri and I have been through, and the circumstances on which Mason walked in on us.

I picked up my pillow and began to slam my fist into it repeatedly. It was making me feel better, so I repeated the process until my arms were about to die from exhaustion.

After blowing off a lot of steam, I changed into my pajamas and tears filled my eyes. Eventually I fell into a deep sleep. Unfortunately, I was disturbed at some point during the night.

A garden suddenly emerged in my dream, and Adrian appeared. This must be one of his spirit dreams. I still can't believe that Adrian is a spirit user.

"Miss me already?" I teased Adrian.

"Definitely," he replied. "How are you?" He asked.

"I'm fine," I replied. "The Dr. gave me a clean bill of health and everything."

"I wish I could have come to visit you. No one ever updated me on your status," he told me. "But how are you really feeling? Because I have to tell you that your aura is scaring me. It is pitch black. It is normally ringed with black, but I have never seen it this dark before. What scares me most is that this is Lissa's darkness. It is seeping through the bond and into you."

I thought back to how angry I had suddenly gotten this evening and I paled. Was the darkness consuming me just like it consumed spirit users?

"It's going to drive me crazy, isn't it?" I asked.

Adrian looked at me gravely. "There are various treatments for it," he joked, lifting up a cigarette, and taking a drag of it.

"You are addicted to smoking in the dream world even?" I teased.

He shrugged his shoulders and smirked.

We chatted for a bit longer before he released me back into a dreamless sleep. Only it wasn't dreamless.

_A sickening crack filled the air around me. I shrieked when I looked at Mason, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, his head falling limply after his neck had been broken by Isaiah. _

_ "Mason!" I screeched._

_ "Now Elena, what are we going to do with this trouble maker? If you ask me, she looks like a tasty snack." Said Isaiah, his red eyes glowing._

_ She snarled, and leaned down to bite me I screamed._

"_Be patient Elena. Leave some for me."_

I woke up just as Elena's fangs were about to pierce into my skin, covered in sweat. I tried to close my eyes and relax again, but images of Isaiah and Elena filled my mind. When thoughts of Isaiah and Elena somehow managed to move temporarily away, thoughts of Dimitri getting scolded and fired crossed my mind. I tossed and turned, but sleep would not return to me.

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**Do you think Mason is going to tell on Rose and Dimitri? Do you think him and Eddie will forgive Rose anytime soon? Do you think she screwed up big time and deserves all the heat she is getting from them, or do you think she is being treated unfairly? Leave your opinions.**

**And of course, what are your thoughts on Rose and Dimitri stealing Lissa and Christian's spot?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks again for the support on this story. Some of your reviews have been really amazing. I have really enjoyed reading them.**

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**Chapter 3**

My alarm went off and I groaned. My head was pounding after getting so little sleep. But for once, I didn't feel the need to throw my alarm clock at the wall since I had been awake already. I threw on a pair of workout clothes since I had convinced Dimitri to resume training today, and one look in the mirror told me that I looked like shit. My face was pale, and I had large black bags under my eyes. Checking the time, I realized that I had to run off to training really soon or else I would be late. But I didn't want Dimitri worrying about me either. I ended up deciding to throw on some make-up as quickly as I could, but when I got to the gym, I found that it hadn't been enough.

"Are you feeling ok?" Dimitri asked, the moment he looked at me. Damn, I must really look bad for him to pick up on it this quickly.

"I'm fine," I replied quickly. "I just didn't get much sleep last night."

His eyes conveyed concern and worry for me. "We can talk later comrade. These trainings are supposed to be business still." I told him. Dimitri was my mentor still after all, and I couldn't afford on losing out on everything that he could teach me. He could act like more than my teacher later.

"When did you get so responsible?" He asked, as if he were reading my mind.

"I always have been responsible!" I replied.

Dimitri stifled back a laugh, but then he took a moment before replying. "You're responsible now though, you have changed a lot."

"It's hard not to," I replied, referencing the Spokane incident as well as Lissa's kidnapping. Events such as those could really force you to mature overnight.

Dimitri nodded in agreement. "Go run your laps. You can do one mile less than normal though. You are still recovering," he said. I was shocked since Dimitri has never gone easy on me for anything, but I nodded in response, trusting his judgment.

As always, Dimitri had been right. I was a lot more tired than usual after completing my laps. I guess that I really grew weaker during the time in Spokane.

"Don't worry, you will get your fitness level back up in no time," he reassured me.

"I actually want to do a theory lesson today," he replied, shocking me once more. Dimitri never does theory. I take enough theory classes with Stan.

"Why?" I asked. "I want to spar."

"What was one of the first lessons I taught you?" he asked, ignoring me.

"I don't know. Umm, to not mess with Russian bad-asses?" I joked.

His eyes showed amusement, but his guardian mask didn't falter.

"Rose, I told you that when you were weaponless and defenseless to run if you ever ran into strigoi." He said, his eyes staring into mine. "From what Mia and Christian have reported to me, that is not what you did in Spokane."

"But I killed them in the end," I replied quickly, defending my actions. I was proud of the fact that there were two less strigoi that were undead.

"You got lucky," He replied. "If Mia and Christian hadn't known how to use magic offensively, you would have died. Even with them both knowing how to use offensive magic, you put their lives at risk as well as your own by not running when you had the chance. The life of three novices and two moroi is not worth the risk of fighting two strigoi. Especially considering that the odds were stacked greatly against you."

I hated it when Dimitri gave me the look he was giving me right now. He was disappointed by my actions.

"Fine, it was stupid." I admitted, not bothering to argue with his logic.

"Just don't let it happen again Roza, I couldn't bear losing you." He replied.

"You said all we were doing today is theory; does that mean we're done?" I asked hopefully.

He arched up an eyebrow. "Do I normally let you out early?"

"No," I replied.

"So there's your answer," he said, with an amused expression. "I will admit that I had planned on only talking to you for a couple minutes and was going to spar with you for the remaining time, but after seeing you this morning, I changed my mind. You are having nightmares and flashbacks to Spokane." He said it as a statement. Trying to hide my nightmares from Dimitri had clearly been a waste of time considering how easily he had seen through me.

"Yeah, that was why I couldn't sleep last night." I replied.

"I know," he said, and remained silent afterwards.

"So… what were you going to tell me?" I asked, prompting him.

"I'm not going to tell you anything, not yet at least. You can talk to me first. What is it exactly that you are flashing back to?" He asked. Typical Dimitri, replying to my question with a question.

"I dreamt that Isaiah snapped Mason's neck." I admitted. "Elena was about to kill me also. I also keep seeing their big red eyes, glaring at me." I shivered at just the thought of it.

"It will take you a long time to get over this incident," sighed Dimitri. "But you can help yourself heal by talking to me and to others about it. I don't want you bottling up your fears. I know you put on a tough exterior, but it's ok to talk to others when you are scared." He told me.

"It's easy to say that, but when's the last time you have talked to someone about your fears?" I asked Dimitri.

"I haven't gone through something comparable to your Spokane incident in years," he replied, completely evading the question.

"Everyone is scared of something," I pressed, trying to force him to talk to me.

"It's fine Roza, this discussion is supposed to be about you, not me." He replied.

"Fine, but don't give out advice that you can't even follow yourself." I told him.

He looked at his watch, and turned back to me. "You should probably get ready for your classes. They start soon."

"Yeah, sure," I replied, feeling a little annoyed at Dimitri.

Dimitri looked at me, pleading me to understand with his eyes, but I wasn't having any of it. I don't need to deal with his hypocritical advice.

"I will see you later comrade," I told him. I didn't want to fight with him or anything.

"See you later," he replied as I walked out.

I headed to my next class which was combat, and met with Mason the moment I stepped into the room. He glared at me. I decided that talking to him wouldn't be a very good idea at the moment. Eddie was also glaring at me, so talking to him wasn't exactly an option either.

Just as class was about to begin, Kirova interrupted.

"Miss Hathaway and Guardian Petrov, I want both of you to report to my office immediately. Someone will be sent to take over your class Guardian Petrov." Kirova said.

One look at Mason told me everything I needed to know. He ratted me out. It took all of my self-control to not spontaneously burst into tears. I couldn't lose Dimitri, not after we had just agreed on getting together!

To no surprise, Dimitri was also sitting in Kirova's office when I got there. One look at him, and I knew that I wasn't going down without a fight.

"Let me do the talking," I whispered to Dimitri as Kirova was closing the door.

He simply closed his eyes and nodded. This was killing him. He was probably humiliated. I hated that being with me was a source of guilt and embarrassment to him.

"You two are both hear because Mr. Ashford has reported that there is an elicit relationship occurring between you two," Kirova began, jumping right into it. "Miss Hathaway, I honestly can't say I'm surprised to hear such accusations about you," I was about ready to punch her. "But Guardian Belikov, you have a stellar record and reputation. I just, what would possess you to have an affair with a student? You are the last person I would expect to neglect their guardian duties."

"We aren't having an affair!" I exclaimed, trying my best to act surprised. I must say that Dimitri did an excellent job hiding his surprise of my outburst. "This is all a misunderstanding!"

Kirova looked very unimpressed. "Go on," she said.

"Dimitri was comforting me because of everything that happened in Spokane. I mean, he's my mentor, it's his job. We had practice that night, but I…" I trailed off, trying to put a sad face on. "I broke down. I just… everything about Spokane is hurting still." I finished. "He gave me a friendly hug, not an intimate one at all, just a comforting one because of how upset I was. And then Mason walked in and automatically assumed the worst in us. Headmistress, I know that you have little faith in me," the bitch had the nerve to nod her head, but I held myself together and did not show my anger towards her. "But I know you trust Dimitri. Do you honestly believe he would be stupid enough to get involved with me?"

Kirova thought about my words for a moment, and I could see that they had affected her. "In either case, Guardian Belikov, you should not have hugged her. Even as a friendly gesture. It is not your position to do that."

Dimitri nodded, showing his agreement.

"Headmistress, if we don't have any proof that an affair is going on, we cannot punish them too harshly," It was Alberta that spoke up. "Guardian numbers are so low, and Guardian Belikov is one of the best we have. We really cannot afford to lose him. We certainly cannot carry out punishment without any evidence."

"Miss Hathaway, maybe you can explain to me why it is that Mr. Ashford would accuse you of this. I thought that the two of you were friends." Kirova said.

"Oh, well, we were actually dating." I told her. I decided to play up our relationship to make the idea of me being with Dimitri even more absurd. "He was really angry because he thought I was cheating on him, which I wasn't!" I lied smoothly.

Kirova looked at Alberta for a moment, and stayed silent before speaking once more. "Either you two are good liars, or you were falsely accused. As Guardian Petrov stated before, I cannot punish you two at the moment. However, I will be keeping a close eye on you two. Your private training sessions will be cancelled and-"

"No, please don't do that headmistress," I begged. "Ask anyone and they will tell you how much I have improved ever since I began training with Guardian Belikov."

"It's true," Alberta confirmed.

"Well, after such an accusation, I cannot allow you to spend time alone together," Kirova stated firmly.

"I will watch over their practices," Alberta sighed. It was clear that she didn't actually want to, but was doing it for my benefit. I don't know how I am ever going to thank her.

"I don't know why you would want to do that, but if you are volunteering, then by all means, you may watch over their trainings." Kirova said. "You may go back to class now Rosemarie."

I let out a huge sigh of relief as I left her office. Mason's eyes widened when I walked in the door.

"What are you doing here?" He hissed when we were told to partner up to spar.

"Well that's a stupid question," I replied. "I do go to classes you know." I said. I was furious at him. How could he betray me like this?

"You should be suspended or something!" He exclaimed.

"There was no evidence that we were having an affair." I replied.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" He demanded.

"Does it look like I'm kidding?" I replied dryly. "How could you do this to me Mason? I thought we were friends."

"And I thought you were my girlfriend." He replied.

"Oh come on," I hissed. "We had a huge fight, and then you ran off for Spokane without me. And, we were never official anyways."

"Who cares if it was official or not? You knew how I felt about you, and it was implied that we were together and exclusive."

"Mason, I'm sorry, ok? If you ever give me the chance to fully explain, I will. But what I have with Dimitri is not what you think it is. If you break us up, I will never be able to forgive you. Hell, I can't believe I haven't broken your nose yet for being such a dick!"

"I don't owe you an apology!" He exclaimed. "I stand by my actions. What you and Guardian Belikov are doing is wrong. I'm not saying that just because I am angry at you, I'm saying it because it's true. Your relationship is inappropriate, and you are stupid if you think it is going to turn out well. Rose, be realistic, even if you somehow manage to graduate without being caught, do you honestly believe people are just going to accept you as a couple?"

His word were like a slap in the face. So I kicked him in the balls.

He yelped in pain as he fell to the ground, clutching himself.

"What is the meaning of this?" Exclaimed the guardian who had taken over the class since Alberta was still with Kirova.

"She kicked me," Mason yelped.

"It was an accident; it is combat class after all." I exclaimed.

"Wow, when did you become such a liar Rose?" Exclaimed Mason who was getting back up now. "I'm losing track of how many times you have lied recently."

The guardian just shook his head at us and walked away. I guess he had more important things to be dealing with than two fighting teenagers.

"I wouldn't have to lie if you hadn't ratted me out." I hissed. "And I couldn't afford to get sent to Kirova's again." I stalked off, sick of this conversation. If Mason was going to be an ass, then so be it, but I certainly wasn't going to stick around and listen to him.

A quick glance around the class told me that everyone was already paired up for sparring aside from Eddie who would obviously pair with Mason. Annoyed at Mason, and just angry in general, I picked up my bag and walked out of the class. If Alberta had been running the class like normal, she would have chased me down, but the guardian holding her place didn't even notice me leave.

I went back to my dorm room for the rest of the hour, but left for my second period class. Mason would still be in that class, but at least I would be able to easily avoid him in it. He is going to make my life hell.

* * *

**Clearly it is going to take a long time for Rose and Mason's relationship to mend (if it ever does even). And that was a close call with Kirova. Do you think Rose and Dimitri will still be able to sneak around now there will be even more surveillance over their actions?**

**Any predictions for what is to come? Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The next few weeks went by fairly uneventfully. I spent the majority of my time with Lissa, and Christian by default. It had been impossible to find private time to spend with Dimitri. Between Alberta monitoring our trainings and being scrutinized by both staff and students whenever out in public together, Dimitri and I could not catch a break. Somehow news that Dimitri and I had been accused of having a fling had spread like wildfire across the school. Everyone knew that we had been found innocent for the time being, but that didn't stop people from spreading rumors about me. I was used to being in the middle of the spotlight. Rumors that I was with Dimitri were much easier to deal with than the Jesse and Ralf rumors from earlier in the year. However, Dimitri was definitely not used of being talked about, and he did not like it at all. And it wasn't like I could comfort him since we couldn't spend time alone! Everything was just so frustrating.

In response to the rumors, I had told all my friends, including Lissa that it was true that we had been called into Kirova's, but that we weren't having an affair. Adrian smirked at me knowingly while I lied to my other friends. They bought my story since they honestly couldn't envision Dimitri's control faltering enough to get involved with me.

Eddie however was also a problem. Between knowing that I cheated on Mason and that I had been accused of having an affair with Dimitri, he had put two and two together. He had been angry, but surprisingly, not so much at me.

"He is your teacher! How could he do this? I'm going to beat the shit out of him for this!" He had yelled. I remember stifling a laugh. As if Eddie could beat up Dimitri.

I felt really bad about lying to the rest of my friends about Dimitri. But having so many people know about my secret is too dangerous. If Lissa knows, then Christian will know as well. It's not that I don't trust Lissa, it's just that it's too risky to tell her.

"Ready to go?" Asked Lissa. All of the senior novices and moroi were going to be paired up today to kick off the first day of the field experience. I would be paired up with Lissa, but most moroi and dhampirs were nervous about who they would be partnered with.

We made our way down to the assembly and took our seats. Dimitri was standing up at the front with a group of guardians. I caught his eye, and gave him a quick smile. He returned the smile with the expression in his eyes. I wish I could just run up to him and kiss him, and then have him hold me for the rest of the assembly. But of course that's never going to happen.

The assembly began a few minutes later when Kirova stepped up to the microphone. "Welcome everyone. Your results on the field test will directly impact your lives after graduation. Your marks on this test are very important, so you must take this very seriously. The field test is not a vacation!" And with that she handed the microphone to Alberta. So much for a warm welcoming.

"I have a list of your assignments in my hands. Before I read them out, I must emphasize that your assignments are not negotiable. Novices, you will either guard who you have been assigned, or you will fail to graduate." Murmurs filled the room, but quickly quieted down when Alberta spoke once more and began reading out the assignments. She read in alphabetical order of the moroi which meant that Lissa would be called fairly shortly.

"Vasillissa Dragomir," She announced. Lissa stood up slowly and graciously walked up to the front. "You will be guarded by Eddie Castile."

What did she just say? In the distance, I could see Eddie hesitantly stand up to take his place with Lissa. What the hell? This must be some kind of mistake. If Eddie is guarding Lissa, then who am I guarding? And why wouldn't I be guarding Lissa? We have a bond for god's sake. I felt Lissa's surprise through the bond as well.

"Christian Ozera," She announced much later on. "Mason Ashford will be guarding you." I breathed out a sigh of relief. Guarding Christian would have been a nightmare. I probably would have killed him instead of protecting him. He's not that bad I guess, but he is extremely annoying.

I waited and waited, but my name wasn't getting called. I was the last novice to be called, and a surge of rage rushed through me when I realized who the only senior moroi left was.

"Jesse Zeklos, you will be guarded by Rosemarie Hathaway."

Jesse smirked at me as I stood up. I restrained the urge to punch him. Not assigning me to Lissa was one thing, but assigning me to Jesse was another. I can't guard him. I will actually kill him.

After the assembly was concluded, I stormed up to Dimitri and Alberta.

"How could you do this to me?" I yelled. "Why aren't I guarding Lissa?"

"You will benefit from guarding someone that you aren't bonded to." Alberta replied.

"But Jesse? You assigned me to Jesse fucking Zeklos!" I exclaimed.

"Rose!" chastised Dimitri. "You are out of line!" His eyes were cold, and he clearly wasn't impressed by my behaviour.

"I'm not out of line! You are for assigning him to me!" I yelled back.

"Your assignment is not negotiable Rose, I thought I had made myself very clear earlier." Alberta stated firmly. I groaned and stormed off towards Jesse.

"I'm not really that bad, at least you have something nice to look at for the next six weeks by guarding me." Jesse smirked.

I glared at him. "Do you actually think you have a shot with me or something?"

He cockily grinned. "You won't be able to resist me."

"Oh, yes I will." I replied, getting even more angry.

He shrugged it off, keeping his cool for the time being. But Jesse is not used of rejection, and is not going to take very kindly to it when he realizes that I am being serious. Why does he even think I would hook up with him again after everything that happened last time?

"I'm hungry, I'm going to go eat." Jesse said.

I groaned. "Let me get changed first," I told him, wanting to get out of my novice attire.

"Nah, I'm hungry now." He replied. "And remember, I come first."

"That must be why Mia had such a terrible time when she hooked up with you!" I exclaimed with mock enthusiasm.

His cheeks turned red with anger. "You know that's not what I meant. Any girl would be freaking lucky to get me in bed."

"Well Mia told me that you had a small dick that you didn't know how to use, and that you had the stamina of an old man." Yes, it was a petty comment, and no, Mia had never told me those things, but insulting Jesse's masculinity seems like the easiest way of pissing him off.

Jesse got even angrier, and simply walked off towards the cafeteria. I followed him, unable to believe that Dimitri would actually be a part of assigning me to Jesse.

After getting my food, I sucked in a breath before sitting down next to him, Ralf, and a guy named Ryan who had been assigned to Ralf.

Five minutes into listening to Jesse and Ralf talk disgustingly about Camille and Carly, I spotted Dimitri. I stormed towards him, expecting some kind of explanation.

"Why would you do this?" I asked him, my voice not holding the anger from earlier, but still filled with frustration.

"It wasn't my choice." He replied coldly. "Alberta has a point though. It's important for you to know how to guard moroi without sharing a bond with them. It is quite unfortunate that you were assigned to Jesse though," he sneered the name. It was clear that he wasn't very happy about my assignment either.

"You will get through the six weeks," Dimitri said, his eyes turning back into the kind ones that I love seeing. "You're strong, you can deal with Zeklos."

"If you could only hear the things he says," I muttered as I turned to join Jesse again for dinner. As I sat down, a few moroi and dhampir girls looked at me with clear pangs of envy. If only they knew what a jerk Jesse truly was.

"She will be so drunk she won't be able to help but sleep with me!" Exclaimed Ralf just as I sat down. Him and Jesse exchanged a high five.

"Because date rape is clearly the only way that you will ever get laid," I replied to Ralf.

He sneered. "I don't think a blood-whore is in the position to be talking right now."

"At least I have never had to trick or take advantage of anyone to have my way with them." I replied back.

Jesse and him both gave me a nasty look before returning to their conversation. Oh god, this is going to be a really long six weeks.

Night rolled around and I let out a sigh of a relief since we weren't required to watch over our moroi at night.

"You got a pretty bad assignment, huh?" Said Eddie as I walked into the novice common room. I was surprised he was speaking to me.

"Pretty bad is quite an understatement," I replied.

"How's Belikov?" He asked.

"I don't know because I never actually spend time alone with him," I replied.

"Good," he responded. He may be mad at me, but I am still like his younger sister that he feels obligated to protect.

"I'm sorry about Lissa though, I didn't mean-" I cut him off.

"It's not your fault. If anyone aside from me had to be assigned from her, you would be my first choice. Take care of her Eddie."

He smiled genuinely at me. "Of course I will."

Of course at that moment, Mason walked into the common room, ruining my conversation with Eddie.

"So you're talking to her again?" Mason asked Eddie.

"She's my friend still." Eddie replied. "She was one of your best friends also."

I saw something flash in Mason's eyes, but it passed quickly. "Well she ruined it."

"God Mason, are you ever going to forgive me or are you going to keep acting like an ass?" I exclaimed.

He shrugged and walked off. I groaned.

"He will come around, eventually." Eddie said. "You just hurt him really badly."

"That doesn't give him the right to act the way he is." I replied.

"If Belikov cheated on you, can you honestly say that you would act any nicer?" Eddie asked.

"I would probably beat the shit out of him," I replied. Eddie grinned when I mimicked his earlier words. But getting serious once more, his expression sobered.

"You would be heart broken, devastated, and angry. Mason is going through all of that. Just try to see this all from his perspective." Eddie was kind of accurate, I mean, I would be torn if Dimitri betrayed me.

"I guess. I still don't forgive him for reporting Dimitri and I though."

"But one day, maybe you will." Eddie said. "I'm going to go to sleep. Goodnight Rose."

"Goodnight Eddie," I replied.

I walked up to my room, glad that Eddie was at least talking to me again, but mainly pissed about being assigned to Jesse. I eventually resolved to ignore him as much as I could, and to only make contact with him when necessary.

* * *

**What do you think about Rose's field test assignment? How do you think things are going to go between her and Jesse? What about Mason?**

**Sorry for the short chapter, the next one will be a lot longer, and I will start developing the plot a bit more as well. And I promise to include more Dimitri in the next chapter as well! **

**Please review your thoughts!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here is the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy it. Please review your thoughts at the end!**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

_Two weeks later…_

The field test was going about as well as it could considering that I was guarding Jesse. When it became clear to him that I had absolutely no interest in talking to him, he stopped talking to me. I basically played the role of the far-guard. Unfortunately, I hadn't gotten the opportunity yet to spar against Dimitri in the test, but I had kicked Stan's ass which was pretty awesome. I also took down another guardian named Yuri. It is safe to assume that I am going to get really high marks for this test assuming things keep going smoothly.

Well, everything was going well until today that is. One could consider today's events as being quite terrible, but things actually did turn out well for me in the end. Here I am, sitting in Kirova's office, yet I am not actually the one who is in trouble. Let me catch you up on my day;

_"Rose, I'm going to need some privacy with Ralf for the next two hours." Jesse said._

_ "Are you crazy?" I replied immediately. "I am not risking failing the field test because you and Ralf need private time together." He is such an idiot._

_ "Well I cannot bring you along with us where we are going!" He replied. "It would be against the rules."_

_ "What rules?" I asked, feeling quite annoyed._

_ "I can't tell you! You're a dhampir!" He replied._

_ I glared at him, and grabbed the top of his shirt roughly after quickly ensuring that no guardians were around. "Where the hell are you going? And wherever it is, I will be following you. I will not risk failing for you!" I growled._

_ He sighed, clearly acknowledging defeat in the situation. "Ralf and I are starting this really cool club called Mana. It is for moroi who are particularly… convincing."_

_ "As in compulsion?" I asked immediately._

_ "No kidding," he snarked. "You can follow if you must, but whatever you see must be kept secret!"_

_ Ha, as if I am going to keep a secret for Jesse. But for now, it may be beneficial to play along with him. I can fake my support for his little "club" until I find out what exactly it is that his club is doing. A compulsion club would definitely be prohibited by the teachers. What if Jesse is doing something dangerous? _

_ "Ok, your secrets will be kept safe with me." I replied, plastering on as realistic of a grin as I could muster._

_ "Good," he replied. _

_ We didn't talk again until we had made it to the location where the Mana would be practicing._

_ "Just stand off to the side, and don't interrupt anything! Everything we do is for a reason, and your interference could ruin everything!" Jesse exclaimed._

_ "Fine," I replied._

_ Jesse then strode forward where he met up with Ralf and some other moroi seniors, as well as some younger moroi that I hadn't met before. After about ten minutes of watching them talk about nothing, they started position themselves to do something. Jesse, Ralf, and two other moroi had formed a semi-circle around one of the younger moroi. Suddenly, the younger student screamed._

_ I immediately sprang into action. "What the hell are you doing?" I yelled._

_ "Go away! I told you not to interrupt!" Jesse yelled._

_ They are torturing this kid. I can see that one of the water users has created a little storm around the kid's head, undoubtedly depriving him of oxygen. _

_ I need Dimitri here. If I try to stop this on my own, they will probably just use their magic against me. I could easily take down a few moroi, but with five of them who can use offensive magic, I may be in trouble. But dammit, I don't even have a phone. So I did the one thing that Dimitri has always told me to do. I ran._

_ Jesse was probably so focused on his little club that he didn't even realize I had gone missing._

_ I nearly ran into Alberta. I guess I could talk to her also._

_ "Alberta!" I panted. "It's Jesse, him and other seniors are using magic to torture younger moroi students!" I then told Alberta where the students were. She immediately picked up her walkie-talkie and contacted a few other guardians after I told her where the students were._

_ "Why are they doing this?" Alberta exclaimed. "For some stupid club that Jesse and Ralf want to start called the Mana." Alberta's eyes widened as she barked out more commands into her walkie-talkie. "Thanks for telling me Rose. We will take it from here. And don't worry, we will make sure that it isn't on record or anything that you were the one to rat them out."_

_ "Thanks," I told her. The guardians could easily make up the story that one of the guardians patrolling the area had stumbled into finding the ritual occurring. I really did not need more people pissed at me. But I would have taken the heat if need be had it meant putting an end to Jesse and Ralf's little club. What they were doing was morally disgusting. No one should be forced into using compulsion in that manner. It reminds far too much of how Lissa was tortured the night of the lust charm…_

_ Oh god, the lust charm… but I was broken from my fantasies too soon when I was called into Kirova's office._

"Well, I am glad that you are actually here on good terms," Kirova told me as she sat down at her desk. "I believe that I have heard all that is needed from the guardians, but you were the only one who was there to observe the entire ritual, so I wanted to hear your side of the story before deciding how to punish the members of this club."

I told her my side of the story, and for once, she was actually taking it into consideration. It feels strange to be in this position.

"Thank you for your time Rosemarie." She told me as I was getting up to leave.

Two hours later, new gossip was spreading around the campus. For once, the gossip was not centered around me though.

"Rose, did you hear that Jesse, Ralf, and three other guys got expelled?" Exclaimed Lissa.

"Yes, many times," I replied to her with a smile. I was thrilled that I wouldn't have to deal with those jerks again. In a way, I was also glad that they were paying for the terrible things that they had done.

"But what about your field test?" Lissa asked.

Hmm, that is a very good question. I could ask a guardian, or I could just assume that I have the rest of the day off. I like the second option better.

"I have no clue. We will find out eventually I guess," I replied to her.

Unfortunately, 'eventually' came only an hour later.

Alberta had called me, as well as the four other dhampirs who had been assigned to the moroi who were expelled, into her office.

"The five of you will continue your field tests," Alberta began immediately. We all groaned. "This is quite an unusual situation that we are in, but after a couple of discussions, myself and the other guardians have come up with a solution. Five guardians have volunteered to play 'moroi.' They will each be your new assignments. There is a little twist though, being that since there are not enough guardians at the school to have five of them take time off, you will be following them around, guarding them as they do their guardian duties." A couple of us laughed at the concept. As if the bad-ass guardians really need our help.

"I know it is a strange concept, but this will not only give you experience in guarding moroi, but it will also teach you how to be on patrolling shifts. If you are attacked by a 'strigoi,' do not expect the guardian you are with to help you. Expect them to be able to do no more than the average moroi would be able to." Alberta said. We all nodded in response.

Alberta gave out the guardian assignments to the other four, and dismissed them before giving me my assignment. "We had a bit of a debate over to who to assign you to," Alberta began. "Guardian Belikov is clearly the logical choice since he is your mentor. However, with accusations of your relationship, some were hesitant about pairing you together." She paused. "As the head guardian at the school, I made the final call. I assigned you to Guardian Belikov." I could barely contain the smile that flashed across my face. Now, I could spend four weeks with Dimitri! This was seriously perfect.

Alberta expression then grew more serious. "I think your reaction has confirmed my suspicions. Rose, I made the decision to assign you to Guardian Belikov because I have seen how much progress you have made with him. It is honestly quite hard to believe that you are the same girl who couldn't even get close to taking down Mr. Ashford in a spar." She said jokingly. "I don't completely buy the story that you fed to the headmistress about your relationship with Dimitri. I don't know what it is, but something is going on between the two of you. Please do not give me any evidence to further confirm my suspicions. Finding love is rare among our race, and I do not want to jeopardize anything for you. However, you must take this test seriously. If you do not, I will be forced to re-assign you immediately."

My jaw nearly dropped by this point. She basically knows that Dimitri and I are far more than just mentor and student. But she is… cool with it?

"Yes, of course, thank you, "I replied stupidly, still stunned by Alberta's words.

"You know, your mother and I actually speak periodically about how you are doing. She does care about you quite a bit, as do I. You have really grown into a mature woman over the past few months."

I smiled, and instinctively pulled Alberta into a hug. I don't really know why I did it.

"Thank you," I told her again smiling. "And don't worry, Dimitri and I will be all business." I told her.

The moment I left Alberta's office, I searched for Dimitri. With him as my charge, I would be expected to be with him. I soon found him by the east perimeter of campus.

"Comrade, did you hear who my new charge was?" I asked him excitedly.

He turned to me and actually smiled. It was a full smile that showed me he was actually happy about the idea of spending time with me. Well, I guess it is a good thing that the man who claims he loves me wants to spend time with me.

"I did," he replied, his husky voice laced heavily with his Russian accent. It completely drew me in.

"Alberta knows though, about us." I told him. "But she is cool with it surprisingly. She basically just doesn't want us to get caught."

Dimitri's eyebrows both shot up. "She… she isn't going to fire me?" He questioned, clearly surprised and also worried.

"Definitely not," I replied happily. "I mean, she knows about us, and just assigned me to spend four weeks with you." I told him.

"Well, I will be more than happy to spend the time with you." He replied, grinning again. I loved it when he let his guardian mask slip.

"So what do you normally do all day?" I asked him.

"This," he replied simply, looking amused.

"Just standing there as in?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied. "It is most important to stay focused when patrolling. It is really easy to let your mind wander when nothing appears to ever go wrong. But there are problems periodically, and it is important to be as efficient as possible when a threat is detected. That is why we have guardians keeping watch around the perimeters of the school despite there being no moroi out here."

"What does your mind wander to?" I asked him suggestively.

"Really Roza?" He asked, moving closer to me. "Is that all you get from what I just told you?" His brown eyes were getting closer and closer to mine, and before I realized what was happening, our lips were touching. It was as if we were simply drawn to each other by a powerful magnetic force that could not be overcome. When I had tried dating Mason, it was like trying to connect two positively charged magnets together. It was simply impossible. But with Dimitri, it's nearly impossible to stay apart.

I moaned as his soft lips smoothly brushed against mine, leaving every bit of me that he touched tingling. His long calloused fingers slowly raked through my hair, pulling it out of the ponytail that it was in, and letting it fall down my back in waves. All too soon, he pulled back and pressed a kiss against my forehead. "You are so beautiful my Roza," he sighed softly. "But you are also distracting me," he added, grinning a little bit. "I can't let my mind wander to you too much."

"It's going to be a fun four weeks with you." I told him smiling.

"You do realize that this is an assignment still right?" He asked jokingly.

"Yeah, yeah," I replied. "I am right here. I won't let anything happen to you, my poor incompetent moroi," I told him, doing my best to keep a straight face.

"And I won't let anything happen to you Roza."

* * *

**Did you like the field test twist? Now Rose and Dimitri can actually spend some time together. **

**With Jesse and Ralf's club closed down, it is safe to assume that the wards won't be broken, so the ending of Shadow Kiss won't occur. What do you think will happen instead? I have lots of ideas, but I love getting input from all of you as well. Your reviews mean a lot to me. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

My week so far with Dimitri had gone wonderfully. I had surprisingly learned a lot about how to keep watch over certain areas. I had also learned a lot about Dimitri. Apparently, obsessing over Western novels and music isn't his only hobby. He also really enjoys cooking, and even baking. I know, it is hard to imagine Dimitri putting pink frosting on cupcakes, but he told me that his mama taught him how to cook and bake at a young age. If I were to tell any of my friends that Dimitri bakes and calls his mother, 'mama,' there is no way they would believe me. He looks far too stoic and menacing to all of them. I often find myself wishing that they could all see what was hidden under Dimitri's seemingly permanent guardian mask.

"Roza, pay attention," Dimitri scolded.

"It is hard to focus when you call me Roza," I replied to him lovingly. Dimitri was on his regular duty watching the church, so I was of course with him. I cannot imagine how boring this job would be if I didn't have Dimitri with me.

Dimitri shook his head at me, but seemed amused. "What am I going to do with you Roza?"

"I have many ideas," I replied smiling.

Dimitri smiled back for a moment, but then slipped his guardian mask back on. Our patrolling sessions were mainly business. Dimitri took his job extremely seriously. After spending the week with him, it had become more clear than ever that Dimitri had been completely right when he had said that it would be dangerous to the moroi we were protecting if we were together. Dimitri definitely had to switch charges after graduation, as much as the thought of not being with him as often disappointed me.

Suddenly, a figure dressed towards me. I instantly reacted, pushing Dimitri behind me, and getting into a defensive crouch. I quickly identified the 'strigoi' as Alberta. This would be the first attack since Dimitri had become my charge, and with him watching, I wanted to impress him.

Alberta leaped towards me, but I easily deflected her attack. Normally her moves are perfectly polished, but her moves at the moment were reckless. It was then that I realized Alberta was simulating a newly changed strigoi who had strength, but didn't know how to fight. Alberta wasn't going to let me easily beat her through overpowering her, but she would probably give in if I attacked smartly.

Alberta threw a punch towards my face, but I was easily able to duck under it, and kicked her in the thigh since she was currently off guard. She stumbled back only slightly, but the loss of composure was enough for me to pin her to the ground. Just as I was about to 'stake' her, she managed to roll us over o that she was on top, and was about to 'bite' me. I couldn't let that happen. With strength I hadn't realized I even had, I pushed her off of me, kicked her in the stomach to temporarily immobilize her, and promptly 'staked' her.

When the battle ended, Alberta grinned, and I got off of her, lending my hand to help her get off. She appeared to be limping a little bit when she got up.

"I am so sorry Alberta," I began. I didn't really want to hurt her.

"Don't start that Rosemarie. I am perfectly fine. Your performance in that battle was excellent by the way." She told me.

"Thank you," I replied.

"Guardian Belikov, you have been working quite a bit this week. Let me cover the rest of your shift for you."

"No, that is not necessary-"

Alberta cut Dimitri off. "You deserve a break. Now leave." Alberta stated.

"Fine," Dimitri said after a moment. "Thank you Guardian Petrov."

"It is my pleasure," she replied.

"Dimitri, I have to go to the church to read up more on St. Vladimir. Will you come with me?"

Dimitri and Alberta both gave me very confused looks.

"Sure," Dimitri replied slowly.

After entering the church, Dimitri asked, "What are we really doing here?"

"You will see in a minute," I replied excitedly. "Just let me check on Lissa first."

After pushing myself into her head, and confirming that she was not in the chapel, and had no plans of entering the chapel at any point tonight, I came back into my own head.

"Ok, the coast is clear, let's go," I told Dimitri who was still flustered.

I led him upstairs to the attic and laid down a large blanket that I had been carrying around in my backpack with me for the week. The more time I spend with Dimitri, the more sure I am that he is the one I want to lose my virginity to. I trust and love him endlessly, and crave his body so much it hurts.

"Dimitri," I moaned as I leaned in to kiss him. He had clearly been caught quite off guard, but returned my kiss.

"What are we doing here Roza?" Dimitri asked softly when I pulled away.

"Remember when I told you that I had a hiding place for us? Somewhere that we could be alone together without being interrupted?"

"You meant the church?" he asked, stunned.

"It is technically only an attic," I replied.

"Above the church, with bibles in it," Dimitri exclaimed.

"It doesn't bother me if it doesn't bother you," I told him, leaning closer to him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"What about Alberta?" He asked with what was left of his self-control. "She will wonder what we are doing in here."

I shrugged. "We are in a church. Unless her mind is as screwed up as mine, she won't suspect us of doing anything. And she knows we are together anyways."

"She knows we are together, but that doesn't mean she would support us doing this on school grounds." Dimitri replied.

"We could keep talking about this," I began. "Or we could just…" I trailed off as I let my lips meet Dimitri's, silencing his protests. He responded hesitantly at first, but quickly became consumed by the kiss. As he wrapped his arms tightly around me, he lifted me off of the ground, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He stumbled back towards the wall, pressing me against it as he continued kissing me fiercely. I felt his tongue slowly probing at my lips, begging for entrance which I happily granted. Our tongues fought for dominance while still conveying the love that we each felt for each other.

I slowly began lifting his shirt over his head and couldn't help but smile when looking at Dimitri's naked chest. It was chiseled, and perfectly sculpted.

Dimitri put me down once his shirt had come off, and laid me down on top of the blanket, and started kissing down my neck as one of his hands tangled itself in my hair, while the other hand made its way under my shirt. He slowly lifted it off, and kissed lower down my neck until he reached my chest, and slowly kissed around the black lacy bra that I was wearing.

He was about to unclasp my bra, but stopped. "Are you sure Roza?"

"Yes, I love you so much." I replied. Dimitri smiled and continued to slowly kiss me.

"Roza, have you ever…" he trailed off. It's adorable how timid he is approaching this subject.

"No," I replied, slightly blushing. I know it isn't something to be ashamed of, but it probably just makes me look even younger to him.

"Don't be ashamed Roza," he said softly pulling away from me while still playing with my hair. "I could not stand the thought of another man's hands on you. I want you all to myself."

Making love with Dimitri was better than I had ever imagined it could have been. He was so gentle and loving at first, patiently waiting for me to feel comfortable with everything. . Despite being a little shy talking about it with me earlier, he was passionate and attentive to me when we were together. It had hurt a lot at first, but the act was completely beautiful nonetheless

"I love you Roza," he sighed as he laid down, spooning me from behind. "No one else in the world could have ever convinced me to do that in the church attic." He added jokingly. "But it was amazing. I will never regret this night."

"I could never regret it either, I love you too much to," I replied to him.

We kissed slowly for what seemed like only seconds, but he eventually pulled away, informing me that my curfew was in a few minutes.

"I don't want to leave," I groaned.

"Me neither," he replied, sighing. "When you graduate, I am going to spend every possible moment with you Roza. You mean so much to me." My heart melted from his rare showing of affection, but my mood quickly plummeted when I realized that it may be a while before I can spend time with him like this again.

Alberta gave us a questioning glance when she saw us finally leaving the attic, but we shrugged it off. At least in her mind, the two of us are most likely above having sex in a church.

Dimitri walked me to the front of my dorm building, and quietly told me that he loved me before saying goodnight. I hated that we couldn't share a goodnight kiss, but was still grateful that we had even been together at all tonight.

It took quite a while for me to sleep. My thoughts were filled with Dimitri, and how amazing tonight had been. I can't remember the last time I have felt so content. Eventually I drifted off into sleep.

I vaguely remember dreaming about Dimitri strong hands massaging me while the two of us were out in the sun at the beach, but my dream was so rudely interrupted by Adrian Ivashkov.

"Go away," I muttered. "I was having a good dream."

"No doubt, your aura is glowing. It even has traces of gold in it. However, as he looked at me longer, his expression became concerned.

"What is it?" I asked. "Is my aura swimming in darkness again?"

"It is always swimming in darkness," he replied, expression unchanging.

"Thanks for that," I replied sarcastically, but Adrian didn't bother replying. I started to worry that maybe something was really wrong with me.

"Adrian, what is it?" I hissed.

"There is just something in your aura," he began. "I don't really know what it is. I have never seen it before in you." He paused. "Never mind, it probably isn't a big deal. Auras change all the time."

But I wasn't so sure. I had never seen Adrian so caught off guard by an aura. Well, aside from when he had first seen the darkness in my aura. I just hope there isn't another weird thing going on with me. I finally have Dimitri and the future is looking bright. I don't want everything to get screwed up.

* * *

**Thank you for all of the support on this story. Just out of curiosity, would you all prefer for me to leave this rated as T, or rate it M and incorporate some lemons?**

**What do you think Adrian saw in Rose's aura? And did you like Rose and Dimitri's first time? Please review!**


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